The College School
July 21, 2020
Dear Families of TCS,
As we prepare to strike a consistent balance of remote and in-person learning, The College School staff continues to work diligently this summer to create an optimal plan for ALL families. We celebrated our last day of school on June 4th and transitioned into daily meetings that next week to begin planning for the new year ahead. By the third week of June, we were delving into our Professional Development sessions with Dr. Rachel Karchmer-Klein to concentrate on enhancing the delivery and format of our instructional plan. Our focus has remained on evidence-based practices to maximize the learning potential and the level of engagement for ALL our students. Through the experience and expertise of Dr. Karchmer-Klein, our staff has been immersed in new elements of instructional design and experiences with digital texts and multimodal literacy.
Now that we all witnessed virtual learning first-hand last spring, we’ve learned that engagement in an online environment encompasses so much more than interacting via Zoom. Student engagement also includes instruction and exploration through video, collaboration and group work, research activities, collaborative websites, problem-solving and class discussions. And, ALL of these online interactions can occur through sites such as Discovery Education, Flipgrid, Nessy, ALEKS, etc…
Following, our PD sessions, our teaching staff also prioritized a list of digital tools (e.g. interactive whiteboard, screen-casting, etc..) that children will learn to utilize in their classes. Teachers and staff will provide students with training on how to use these tools. Additionally, support will also be offered in a dedicated area of Schoology, while parents will also have access to a new email address dedicated exclusively to technology support. Finally, TCS will also hold a Technology Orientation in mid-September for parents via Zoom. This will encompass demonstrations while allowing ample “Q & A” time, too.
As always, I appreciate your patience and understanding as we await our final date to present our reopening plan to the UD Health and Safety Committee. Once the final revisions are received, we will be able to post and share broadly. Some of you have recently requested general information that is critical to your personal planning purposes. Please continue reaching out to me, with questions as needed, as I am happy to share any of the general information in smaller parts. Again, I will continue doing my best to keep up with all correspondence throughout the summer, as YOU, our families and students of TCS remain my highest priority.
Sending my best to your entire family,
Laura Dougherty